In this post we will be sharing some unusual stairlift installations – 5 of the most remarkable projects we have completed. Most of our stairlifts are straight forward and simple – for example a straight stairlift in an uncomplicated home. But occasionally we are asked for a truly remarkable project. This is usually either in an unusual house or with a certain level of difficulty – or even both.
We have even become known for our ability to fit stairlifts where others have said it can’t be done. Like this first one where the staircase was exceptionally narrow. This was also an interesting one because of the back-story of our customer who sadly had a muscle wasting condition.
#1 Unusual Stairlift Installations – Extremely Narrow Staircase
This customer was struggling with a couple of stairlifts (previously installed) which were too wide for the staircase. He even had one installed which left zero leg room – so much so that he had to scrunch his legs up in the seat to use it! This was totally unacceptable especially given the condition of the man. You can read more about this case study here.
As you can see in the photograph below, the staircase was exceptionally narrow. So the only option for this staircase was the Flow X stairlift. This stairlift is our go-to stairlift when nothing else will fit. It has a patented technology which allows it to travel, pivot and tilt simultaneously. This is a remarkable feature when it comes to navigating very difficult stairs. It also allows the user to face downstairs, saving valuable legroom and making it invaluable for stairs like these.
The mans wife wasn’t a stairlift user and also needed access the stairs. This meant that the stairlift needed to be parked out of the way when not in use, and the rail had to be thin enough to accommodate space on the stairs. For the sake of safety and convenience we placed the park point inside the bedroom and even created a hatch so the door could be closed over the rail. We have a dedicated page for stairlifts for narrow stairs if this is of interest.
#3 – Uneven & Awkward Angles
This one was an unusual installation in that it was an Elizabethan home which had a preservation order on it. The staircase steps were uneven making it awkward to install the rail. Not only that, but the turns on the stairs were not 90 degree angles! This was a beautiful farmhouse out near Stockport, Manchester. Read the full case study here.
Other issues encountered with this installation were the doorway at the top of the stairs. Because of this an internal wrap (the rail on the inside of the staircase) was decided upon, to avoid the door and allow the stairlift to be parked out of the way.
The landing wasn’t horizontal which meant the further the stairlift travelled the higher up it became! This wasn’t a problem ultimately but it certainly presented a more interesting installation than our normal day to day installs!
#4 – A Spiral Staircase
This one was our most expensive installation to date and it was a steel, spiral staircase covering four floors in Plymouth! That’s not our usual stairlift installation. Special care had to be taken when drilling screw holes for the rail because we were drilling through the steel. Should a mistake be made, it would leave the hole.
On a normal stairlift installation engineers drill through the carpet into the wooden stair treads. If a mistake is made, the screw can easily be taken out and replaced without leaving any marks. But on steel, there would be a hole!
Below you can see our engineer with the customer – trying it out! The other image shows the rail being constructed and placed on the staircase. The stairlift model was also the Flow X – the only model which would have accepted the challenge here!
The rail comes in sections which are carefully placed together and screwed into the steel floor. Each section is carefully placed and secured to the floor – in this case from the top downwards. This job was quite a feat! More on this can be found in our spiral staircase case study.
#5 – Unusual Stairlift Installations – A Concrete Floating Staircase
This one was another unusual and interesting stairlift installation. This was actually a monastery which had been moved, stone by stone from Ireland to Devon, UK. It was not only a beautiful building but also a rather difficult and awkward installation due to the floating and concrete steps.
The stairs protruded from the wall and so had no underneath support. This presented a challenge in that should a step be cracked from the drilling, it may cause a serious problem. The staircase could even collapse! Drilling into the steps was necessary though, even though attaching the lift to the wall was a potential consideration.
We were originally approached by the estate agents who were looking to sell this property. Apparently, the potential buyers were in need of a stairlift to determine whether they would purchase the property. This was definitely an interesting one both in terms of the beautiful property and the staircase difficulty. There was also an olympic sized swimming pool attached to the property housed in the building to the left (pictured below). Read more about this case study in our stairlift on floating steps post here.
Unusual Stairlift Installations – Summary
So there’s just a small slice of some of the most interesting and unusual stairlifts we have installed around the UK. Some of these properly tested our ingenuity and expertise!
We’ve become so well known for our expertise with installing specialist stairlifts on very narrow, awkward or difficult stairs that we often have jobs referred to us by other suppliers!
So if you have an unusual property, staircase or situation, we would love to hear from you! You can reach us on 0800 046 3438 or visit our contact page and leave us a message.
We also specialise in reconditioned stairlifts. So if you’re interested in saving money on a stairlift – checkout our article on 8 ways to save money on a stairlift, or ask us for a quote.
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